How Do You Define Success? A New Beginning?

(A
recent post by Jim Crawford-Atlanta Real Estate, inspired me to expand
on this topic...I
hope you will let me know your thoughts).How many of you know what success really is? I'm
not talking about someone else's definition of success...I mean YOUR definition of success.
If not, you're not alone.

Our industry is full of agents, new and old, who are working
themselves into an early grave while trying to
reach dream
that will never be attained. It was not that many years ago
that
I was guilty of the same offense. I am
so glad that I woke up in time to smell the roses before they were
placed on my casket.

Too many agents have accepted as fact those
perceptions that
our industry perpetuates as acceptable, in fact desirable.
Money, transactions, notoriety....whatever the drink of the
day
may be. And yet, even agents who are still
experiencing
substantial business activity don't seem to be happy. Could
it be
that our industry perpetuates the myth (or lie) that the more money you
make and the more deals you close, the happier you'll be.
If money or notoriety is the answer to happiness,
why do so
many rich and famous people have rooms
reserved at rehab centers? Could it be that true
success and
perceived success are very different animals? I say yes.

Here was my first experience with real estate success. In my
first of real estate sales with a national brokerage
firm, I
was
teamed with a "successful" agent who was to mentor
me.
Successful by
industry standards anyway. What I soon found out was that
this
agent closed lots of transactions, made lots of money and this
agent's life was a mess. This agent worked 7 days a
week and
was grabbing all the floor time/phone duty available. Did it
help? Sure it did, afterall this agent closing lots of business and was
therefore a success.
But
consider the life of this successful agent and see if this is what you
would hope for. This agent:

1.
was on a second marriage which was becomeing a third
failed marriage;2. had two
elementary school children who had been kicked out of several
schools;3. smoked
like a chimney because it helped this agent handle the stress;4.
consistently spent
more money than was coming in;5. was
miserable, though it was important to keep up the facade of success
within the office setting.

Keep in mind this agent had a new car, lots of toys and was perceived
by other agents in our office as being very successful. I
realized quickly that my concept of success did not look at all like
this agent.

So the question is this. What is your definition of success.
I you don't have one, what is it you're working for?
See,
in my opinion most agents seem to spend more as they bring home more.
They buy more expensive cars, buy a bigger house, buy more
toys
and take more expensive trips. But I've seen very few that
have
achieved even a moderate level of true inner peace and happiness.
Why because the material things only bring these
agents
temporay happiness, short-term satisfaction. When the new
smell
wears off, they must have the next material thing to excite
them,
to please them, to give them comfort. But this cycle never
stops.

Perhaps the slowing economy is just what some of us needed to
re-evaluate our concept of success. Perhaps it will help us
remember what should be important to us. And maybe we can
look at
our success and happiness from a whole new perspective.

I would love to hear what others think and if they feel like now is a
great time to consider some changes in our businesses and our lives.
I for one, say YES!